Sunday 1 August, Murchison Falls -Fort Portal and Kibale Forest, Uganda
It was a long night and the rain hadn’t stopped by the time we had to get up to get moving. Packing up while it is actually raining is really not fun – even in your costume. Both tents were pretty wet even inside. Roads of course, very wet and slippery with huge puddles along the way.
Had a look at
Butiaba Port on
Lake Albert. It was a colonial port in its day but now is just a relic. Headed up the Eastern escarpment with views of
Lake Albert.
Congo on the other side of the lake but we couldn’t see it.
Dried out the further south we went. Passed some strange mutated pines. Tried to buy bread in Hoima but could only find sweet bread which is disgusting. More ladies in traditional dress – shiny with the pointy sleeves.
From Hoima it started getting hilly. Beautiful tea plantations around Kenjojo. Went past a few schools with biological diagrams painted on the outside passage walls e.g. the heart, tooth etc. Quite a good idea. Another had maps on the wall I could see. Trench diggers were working on a Sunday at 16h40 and they were all working!
Eventually got to Fort Portal. Did a grocery shop. Found 1 camp on a crater lake but rooms were booked and the camp wasn’t suitable - couldn’t have the car by the tents. Doris took us to a camp that didn’t exist and eventually at about 19h00 we got to the Chimpanzee Forest Camp with lovely grassed terraces overlooking a crater lake.
Monday 2nd August, Fort Portal, Uganda
Catch up and chill day! Then took a drive to Kibale Forest where we hoped to see chimps. The forests are beautiful but the rd passes right through and was full of tea trucks traveling at high speed and hardly pulling over so you have to actually pull over and stop, which kind of spoilt it. Photos were difficult because of the dust.
At the park info centre they wanted $30 entrance pp and $90 to hike to see the chimps, and only 0ver 13 year olds could go. Sharon and I had decided we would rather try and see the gorillas and couldn’t afford both, so we gave it a miss. Went back to Fort Portal to find a tourist place to find out about the gorillas and the chimps I was sure Maureen and Ingrid had spoken about that didn’t cost a thing. The tourist place on the GPS didn’t exist – surprise surprise, Doris is hopeless in Uganda! A place advertising tours wasn’t at all helpful other than to offer a tour from there. Had lunch at the Travellers Inn in the hope we’d see some other tourists and could ask them. They didn’t speak English, but their guide told us it was $120 to see chimps and it could only be at Kibale, and gorilla would cost $500 and you’d have to have booked in Kampale months before. Great!
Got an sms from M&K to say they had found some guide and booked for the chimps the following day and for the gorillas 2 days later. Oh well they were sorted. We didn’t have that kind of time as we had to get Sharon and Sarah back to Nairobi for their flights.
Took a back route back to camp to see the crater lakes. It was very hazy – smoke from fires burnt everywhere and added to that dust! There is even a layer of smoke over the Kibale forests. That can’t do the chimps any good.
Met a couple of Drs from
Cape Town back at camp. They own a house in Wembly – what a small world! Also chatted to a guide with a Dutch couple about getting to see the gorillas. He was far more helpful about the where to go and who to contact. We decided to set off the following day – had to or we wouldn’t get back to
Nairobi on time.
Tuesday 3rd August Kibale – Kisoro, Uganda
Beautiful sunny day but just as hazy – damn fires!
Good tar road heading south. Could just see the snow-capped peaks of the Rwenzoris – Mountains of the Moon. Unfortunately we were quite far away and didn’t have time to go closer. Went past Lake George into
Queen Elizabeth National Park. Think we saw a few cob. Also buffalo and impala.
Crossed the Kazinga channel between Lake George and Lake Edward. People in Uganda must live primarily on bananas.
They are grown everywhere. Every now and again you pass Central Forest reserves which are relatively small pockets of natural forest. The country must have been amazing when it was all covered in these forests.
Headed for Kisoro which is close to both the Congolese and Rwandan borders and apparently you can arrange gorilla trips with guides from any of the countries for less than $500. Climbed up into the mountains. Mountains are cultivated right to the very top.
They’re going to have to do something about their population growth as they are already using every available piece of land already and their population seems to be expanding if the number of kids is anything to go by.
Lots of building taking place around Kabale – loads of hotels going up. It is a main route through to both Rwanda and Congo and I guess tourist traffic is improving. We have heard really good reports about Rwanda. Would have liked to have gone there – maybe next time – once we have recovered from being “Africad-out”. Really good tar rd from Kabale. Beautiful valleys between the mountains – big dairy farms and lots of crested cranes. We started counting the pairs and then gave up as there were so many. One group had 20 cranes! Also lots of coral trees although they seem to be a combination of a coral and bottlebrush.
Market day in the little villages just about closes off the whole rd – have to weave your way very slowly between people, cows, goats and trucks. It was about 5 so there were also trucks being loaded with all sorts of city products (mattresses, chairs, water containers etc) with people squeezed in and ontop, headed deeper into the mountains, and other trucks with huge sacks of onions, bananas, tomatoes, oranges etc headed for Kabale.
We wound our way up into the mountains. The rd was cut into the slate with steep drops into the valleys below.
We discovered the rd was under construction and so the tar ended about 23kms from Kisoro and there were various stages of rd construction with all the huge vehicles to go with it further on. The rd got progressively worse with thick powder dust.
The landscape really was amazing rounded mound shape mountains and smaller versions protruding out of the middle of valleys – very hard to describe. Volcano mountains in the distance. Some valleys have lakes, others marshes with papyrus and others with beautiful crops. One had a black bog! Volcanic rock everywhere. Eventually got to Kisoro – a long hard day’s drive. I was exhausted so Mark must really have been. Finding accommodation was a bit of a challenge but eventually we found a place with rooms that were fairly reasonable.
Sharon and I located the gorilla booking centre and went to see what we could get. Mark had said he had no interest in seeing them so would look after the girls if we could get in the following day. We couldn’t get hold of the guide we’d been recommended who could have taken us to the gorillas through Congo / Rwanda at $350 to had to settle for the $500 from Uganda. But we were apparently very lucky as we managed to organize a trip for the following day. Apparently some people had waited months. An Ausie guy was very chuffed to see us as it meant we could make up a party and could share the additional costs of getting to the Bwindi forest. We were told the Bwindi group had split into 2 and thus there could be 2 groups as long ats there were 3 or more people. The other group for the following day was full. We’d be collected at 6 and had to bring our own food and water and long clothes and rain jacket. We went to get ready for the early start. Sharon had to cut up some of Sarah’s pants that were too short and add them to her ¾ pants! She had to wear Sarah’s tackies too – we hadn’t planned to do the gorilla trek as we’d heard it was about R7000 each in SA.
Didn’t sleep at all well. Not sure if it was faffing about whether I’d packed all I needed, or was worried about the gorillas or the walk or spending all that money!
Wed 4th August Bwindi Forest, Uganda – Gorilla trekking.
Picked up our toasted cheese sandwich for packed breakfast and climbed into the Toyota Corrola with blackened back windows. Picked up Sean, the Ausie who we shared the cost of the taxi with and set off for the 2 hr drive to Bwindi Forest NP. We traveled at extremely high sped along shocking rds. If we got to see the gorillas it would be a miracle! Didn’t help an already troubled tummy that balked at the squat loo before we left! – Sorry Africa isn’t for the faint-hearted!
Got to the park gate at 7h30! Walked the 10 minutes to the briefing room and then waited while the park officer checked our passports against our permits and wrote them up in the registry. Then we waited another 1hr for the other party to arrive. So much for leaving at 8 – we could have had another hours sleep. There were 8 of them – German and American and they’d had to leave their lodge at 3! Not sure I was that keen! There were 2 oldish American ladies in the group. We wondered how they were going to split the groups. Then we (the 3 of us ) got called out to be briefed.
Bonus – we would be just the 3 of us. Were told the group we would be trekking to the smaller breakaway group of 9 and that yesterday they were 2 hrs away and generally they only move about 50 m a day, so we were looking at 2 – 3 hrs. Park rules were that no more than 8 people could see the gorillas on a day and that they could only be exposed to people for 1 hr. 2 trackers had gone ahead to where they were the day before and would radio our guide as soon as they had been found. Medi was our guide and some young chap with an AK – to ward off any attacking elephants. Didn’t like the way he looked Sharon and I up and down and seemed to be checking everything we had with us – watches, cameras etc. Made us a bit uneasy so were glad Sean was with us. They were later rename drunken captain hook (he’d clearly had a good night the night before and the fumes were nasty) and Rambo.
We set off just after 9 and branched off on a different path to the others and soon headed on a path straight up the side of a mountain. No such thing as zigzagging here! Sharon and I had to have a good few breathers on the way up but we were assured that this would be the only steep hill. HaHa – if only we had known what we were in for……. Saw huge elephant tracks on the mud path (nearly 2 feet wide). Don’t know how they squeeze through the thick forest. Also saw what looked like a bush buck but no other animals. The forests were beautiful though. Some incredibly tall trees some with massive flat canopies.
We saw fresh gorilla droppings and could see where they had gone through the bush. That was about 1.5 hrs into the hike, but for some strange reason we headed off in the opposite direction and were told the tracks were old. Certainly didn’t look old to us but what would we know! Medi told us his trackers hadn’t yet got to where they gorillas had been the day before – seemed strange. All the time Medi seemed to be chatting on the walkie-talkie to someone. Suddenly we veered off the path straight up another hill cutting our way through the thick bush- so much for only 1 steep hill – this was much worse as there was no path. We got excited that we must be close, but at the top of the hill while having one of Medi’s compulsory stops, Sharon spotted the other group on the path below us. When pointed out we headed in the opposite direction down the other side of the hill and up the opposite one – all the time cutting our way – so much for conservation!
It was really heavy going with layers of forest debris which would mean sometimes falling through down to mid thigh and wondering what was creeping around under there. There were thick vines which tripped you up at every opportunity – you couldn’t pull your foot through them – they just didn’t break. You had to reverse, untangle yourself and then continue. Sometimes we were on all fours as the bush was too thick above to cut, so your backpack would scrape through depositing leaves, seeds and bugs all down your back and head. You should have seen what came out of my pants at the end! Sean got 2 really nasty stings. Other times we climbed over fallen trees that were slippery with moss and had treacherous – leg breaking holes between branches. It really wasn’t fun.
At the top of that hill we stopped for another rest (supposedly while Medi was trying to contact the trackers). We heard a bushpig, which according to Medi was not at all dangerous – his credibility was declining fast! While sitting there we heard voices – most likely from the other group and that sent us off over the top of the hill again – all three of us were now getting really p’d and were not falling for the b’s story we were getting from Medi – supposedly the trackers were out of range. It was now about 13h00. This valley was full of something similar to bracken ferns but about 2.5 m high, with spiky, hairy stems which often you had to grab onto to stop yourself sliding down into some hole deep in the undergrowth or from tumbling down the steep slope. We were pretty convinced now that we were trying to avoid the other group that was walking on the proper paths below. Obviously they were taking longer than expected and despite clawing our way through the bush we kept catching up with them. Or we were lost and Medi had no idea where he was going. We concluded the former. At the bottom of this valley it was very slushy and slippery but of course we headed back up the other slope. We often crossed paths but never went on them. At about 2 we stopped for a rest and Medi promptly lay down for a proper rest! We said we were ready to continue but he said he was waiting for the trackers to locate the gorillas and he didn’t want to go off in the wrong direction. Ya right! We sat for about 45 min having to move every now and again to avoid the army ants or orange caterpillars that descended from the trees. We were almost at the point of plotting a mutiny!
Eventually we set off again down the valley – cutting our way of course. It was really steep and Medi cut us each sticks to stop ourselves falling head first down into the bracken. It was slippery and very treacherous. How we didn’t break and ankle or leg, was a miracle. At the bottom we headed back up the other side – surprise surprise! We had now had enough. I was about ready to tell him he could shove his bloody gorillas, when about half way up the hill we got to the trackers. We were told to leave our bags and sticks and get our cameras ready. At last. Sharon and I decided we’d rather carry our bags with us. We really didn’t trust this lot any more. We expected to see the gorillas over the next branch but had to climb, now without sticks for another 15 minutes over wet and slippery undergrowth and fallen trees.
Eventually we saw them up in the trees. It was 15h35! Only 6.5 hrs! We proceeded slowly and due to the steepness, when we stopped you were balancing on a vine or slippery log, so photography and videoing was a real challenge. And guess what, there were far more than 9. There at least 3 silverbacks and definitely at least 15 – 20 others. When we asked, we were told the groups had just rejoined – that day. Ja right. The gorillas were amazingly agile up the trees.. We were lucky they were up there as when they descended they disappeared into the undergrowth, especially the younger ones. There was 1 mum with a tiny little one which she kept hidden from us but we got a fleeting look. Most of them actually kept their backs to us – not sure if it was coincidence. The silverbacks were apparently quite young still but they were pretty large.
Fortunately Sean had checked the time when we arrived and so when Medi tried to tell us we had to go cause it was late, about 35min into our hour we could tell him we knew we had at least 25 min more. Kreep! Slowly the gorillas came down the trees and disappeared into the undergrowth followed last by 1 of the silverbacks. It was incredible how they literally disappeared without a trace or sound. We tried to follow a bit but then a silverback charged us from out of nowhere. In retrospect it was quite funny because in the briefing they tell you that if that happens you must crouch down, not run, and not make eye contact. The tracker that was at the front lept over the Medi knocking Sean and Sharon flying. I heard it but didn’t see anything as I was at the back. We decided not to p’off the silverback and start back. To ensure we believed the con, we had to move horizontally along the steep valley through what looked like climbing rose stems on an almost vertical slope so you had to hang on to them. Along , up and over the top and then at last down onto a perfectly good, wide, gradually declining path which wound its way down the mountain. This is what we were supposed to have been on all day except for 20 min or so actually climbing to the gorillas. We got back in 2 hrs!
Our consensus on the actual story (ies):
1. They knew already that morning that the groups had rejoined but park rules are that the gorillas can only be seen by 8 people so that had to let the others see them first and it was important we didn’t realize this. So we got the short straw and had to stay off the paths and be kept busy while the others saw the gorillas. They took longer than expected.
2. Our idiots got lost and couldn’t find the smaller group we were supposed to see, so they took us to the bigger group but we had to wait for them and they took ages despite being on the paths and we weren’t supposed to spot them so we had to stay deep in the forests.
We had decided that 1 was most probably, but M & K saw the smaller group the following day and were done by 2h30, so perhaps story 2 was the true one. Either way, it ruined my gorilla experience and at this stage I don’t think the $500 was worth it. Hopefully the bad memories will fade and the photos and video will keep the few good memories.
We flew back in the Corolla narrowly missing goats, cows, people and other cars. Sitting on the hooter seemed to help. Were too tired and sore to care! Got back to a cold shower! Ooh for a deep hot bath!
Sorry this has been so long!
Thurs 5th August Kisoro – Nagugabo, Lake Victoria, Uganda
After breakfast of Spanish omulettes (yes, spelt that way) we headed out of the dust hole and climbed back up the mountains headed for Lake Victoria and Ssese Island – fuel pump permitting – it was wheezing horribly but who wouldn’t in this dust.
Had a few good views of the 3 volcanic peaks – 1 (the furtherest in the pic, erupted just 30 years ago.
This pic shows these weird hills that seem to have risen in the valleys
Drove past lake Banyoni, a huge crater lake by the looks of it.
Only got close to Lake Vic late, so decided to leave Ssese island to the following day. Stayed in a nice resort on a small lake, Lake Nagugabo near to Lake Vic.
Had whole tilapia for supper – was really cheap and good.
Friday 6th August Nagugabo – Ssese Island, Uganda
Had to rush to make sure we were at the ferry we were told at 9. Actually it left at 10h40. This is Africa after all. The ferry is supposed to take 120 people, 12 cars and 2 trucks. About 300 people came off the ferry and we saw 10 people fit into a Toyota Corrola – 4 in front and 6 in the back – all adults. We were lucky, our ferry only had 2 trucks and 3 cars and about 50 people which was great. It was a great trip about 45 min – lovely and hot and great views of the numerous islands in Lake Vic.
Ssese is the largest island belonging to Kenya. Drove from 1 end of the island to the other which took about and hour. It got darker and darker as we progressed and as we got out to check the first place to stay, the heavens opened – not rain again. Actually the accommodation places were jolly lucky it was raining as we opted for rooms rather than camping. Just after we’d paid and got everything out it cleared and was beautifully hot – perfect for camping, but too late!
Went into to town to try and draw money but there is no power on the island so no ATM facilities – could only change money which we did. Met a guy from Harding – a professional hunter hunting the webbed- footed buck – can’t remember their name. Got onto a generater-powered computer in the Internet café to update the blog. Not where I’d expected to get internet access and it was faster than Jinja!. Cost me US5000 for 1.5 hrs – that is about R18! Cooked our R49/kg fillet and fresh veg for supper. What a treat!
Sat 7th Aug Palm Beach Resort, Ssese Island, Uganda
Woke to a stunning day. Phoned K&M to discover they were heading down round the bottom of the lake. Mark spent the day trying to sort out the fuel pump – had to cut a hole in the back of the landrover to get to it. Once out it was almost impossible to get back n. Anyway we managed in the end.
The girls spent a lovely day on the beach and I can actually say I have a decent tan now – at last!!.
Really was a nice chilling day except for the fuel pump! Had a divine venison potjie for supper.
Sun 8th Aug Ssese – Entebe, Uganda
We’d been told that the ferry only runs twice on a Sunday and you have to be there early to get in the queue. Apparently some people camp there over night. We left by 4h15 to make sure we were in the queue for the 9h00 ferry. Were there by 5h30, limping along having to check the fuel filter every now and then to check it hadn’t popped off. It was really whining by then. We were 2nd in the queue. Made coffee and tried to get some sleep but it was too cramped. Got light just before 7. Were told the ferry goes at 9 and 13h00 but it depended on the repairs needed – it was serviced on a Sunday…. Well 9h00 came and went and so did 10 and 11. At 12h00 the ferry arrived and we finally left at 12h30! This time it was pretty crowded.
The rd to Kampala was shocking and not fun when we were worrying about the fuel pump. There were vehicles carry all sorts – from long-horned cows shoved into trucks to chickens on bikes.
We were tired and hungry by the time we got to Entebbe around 17h30. We tried various accommodation places from 5 star hotels way out of our budget range to a Chinese place that I think specialized in short-stay visitors. Eventually we got to the central Inn where the car was checked for bombs and we were body searched! At least it should be safe! (We discovered later that during the world cup final being shown at a major stadium in Entebbe, 2 suicide bombers had killed 74 people. Apparently they were Somali and were protesting Uganda sending troops to Somalia – no wonder Terry had been worried about Sharon and Sarah coming to Uganda!)
We dumped our stuff and backtracked to Nicky’s Pizza place we’d seen on the way in. It was so good to have pizza and greek salad! After supper it was early bed – we were bushed.
Monday 9th Aug Entebbe, Uganda – Kakamega Forest, Kenya
Nice to actually watch some CNN news in the morning on the TV!
After breakfast and what we hoped was the end of rushhour traffic we headed for the Land Rover dealer / workshop in Kampala, to sort out the fuel pump. The traffic wasn’t actually as bad as expected and with Doris, we found the place easily – she has her uses!.
The guys at the workshop were very helpful. We left Mark there and headed for a shopping centre we’d passed on the rd. We got some weird looks as we dodged the motorbikes, people and banana skins and hopped back and forth across the huge drainage ditch but we got there and found Game, Shoprite and THE most divine shop full of wonderful Ugandan products. We had such fun and the prices were reasonable too.
At the workshop the guys checked the fuel pump and refitted it and supplied Mark with a new one in case but said it was fine in the meantime. He paid less than expected, and got genuine German parts so he was chuffed. After dragging him into the divine shop to buy my birthday present, we set off for the border – probably a lot later than we should have. Erin was in hyper bunny mode – she really does get on a high shopping – going to be dangerous later- good luck to any boyfriend she has!
Got a speeding fine doing 67 in what was apparently a 50 zone. What a pain. The crook wanted US100000! We only had US60000, so he happily took that – no ticket of course!
The Busia border was chaos – trucks everywhere, so it also took quite a while. The Kenyan rds weren’t great – surprise surprise and as it got darker and Mark had to contend with dusk, potholes, bicycles, people and goats everywhere, driving really got tough. Then it started to rain which made it even worse – and there was no accommodation advertised anywhere.
The rds got very muddy as we neared Kakamega forest in the pitch dark. Street vendors in the little villages operate by candle light at 19h00 - there is very little power anywhere and absolutely no signposts. Eventually we got to where Doris said there should be a camp and as we turned off the rd we got stuck in deep mud – great end to a long day. We had to winch off a tree!
There was not a sole around and pitch dark and raining. We were about to pitch our tents anyway when a guy with a torch arrived. He said the roomed accommodation was KS 500 pp and camping was KS650 … Go figure! The rooms were in a wooden barnlike structure on silts and had 2 single beds with mozzie nets and a paraphin lamp. They had a proper loo and an old bath, but the hot taps had long been disconnected and I don’t think the baths had been used in 40 years! It really wasn’t great but beggars can’t be choosers. I doomed the U-shaped beds and putting our sleeping bags and pillows on top. Erin and I slept in 1 bed and Mark in the other. His bed had a bucket strapped to the wooden ceiling above! Really getting sick of Africa! Didn’t sleep much that night making sure Erin and I stayed off the blankets and didn’t get eaten through the mozzie nets. Looking forward to getting home sooooooooo much.
Tues 10th Aug Kakamega Forest – Masai Mara, Kenya
Mark and I both felt an earth tremor during the night – wasn’t much fun in a rickety doublestory wooden structure! It got the colobus monkeys screeching too. That is quite an eery noise. Eventually dawn came.
Went for a walk through the Kakamega forest. The guide was very knowledgeable particularly of the trees and their uses. The forest was beautiful with some huge trees. Pity about the bug weed which the guide knew was exotic but was sure the indigenous trees would kill! That doesn’t bode well for these forests. We also saw white colobus monkeys and blue monkeys.
Rd south was totally shot. And it was the A1, believe it or not! It was totally potholed with no attempt to fix it. Got a bit better from Kisumu where we turned off the A1. Kenyan towns and villages are so dirty compared to Uganda. The Ugandan houses also had little gardens around them whereas the Kenyan ones were mostly dirty. Saw lots of young kids working – fetching sticks / water.
Rd to Kisii and Kikoris were ok but then shocking rds to Masai Mara. You can’t believe that the rds to their main tourist attraction are so shocking. Obviously their main tourists are fly-in ones, but someone has to drive these roads for them to be game driven around the park. Got to the park about 5. K&M had been there since 1 and were disappointed “ lots of wildebeest and zebra for lots of money”. They’d sussed out the public camp and said it was shocking.
We were tired and hungry and just wanted to sort out camp and go to sleep. We eventually set up camp at the campsite right by the gate. It already had about 15 overlander tents in it but beggars can’t be choosers. There were 2 disgusting squat loos and 2 ice cold showers all in a terrible state. Most people had used the area behind the loos so that was in a charming state too. There was an open rubbish pit right next to them too – these guys have no idea! For a game reserve with the world renown reputation of Masai, this was shocking – and at the rates they charge too.
I showered. Erin had a wash. She refuses to get under a cold shower! Then we started supper. Lucky we got there when we did, as 2 more overlander trucks pulled in. Our favourite friends. The Italians seem to be the noisiest!
Wed 11th August Masai Mara – Narok, Kenya
We’d faced our tent away from the masses and towards the plains and we woke to 12 hotair balloons! Lucky people. I’d spent my money on gorillas and bootcamp!
After breakfast we set off to drive through the reserve and hopefully see the migration of wildebeest and zebras – crossing the Mara River would be 1st prize.
We found a spot near the river with a huge croc.
We were watching him when we saw a herd of zebra approaching. The banks were quite steep but at 1 part they could get down to the water to drink. There was about a foot drop to the water so it was tricky drinking and they were quite skittish. Next thing we saw a huge croc take a snap at one of the zebra. It narrowly escaped! So we decided we would stay to watch for a while.
While we sat there and looked around there were lines of zebra and wildebeest coming towards us from all directions. The wildebeest were running. It was really exciting and quite an awesome sight. The sounds of both the zebra and wildebeest were amazing. For about and hour / so we were the only car there and it really was a special experience. They definitely looked as if they were considering crossing. It didn’t really make sense though as there was still quite a lot of grass on the side we were on. We’d seen other areas where they had completed the grasses and it was down to bare earth. They would come down to drink and often they’d slip in or get pushed in or get brave and get in. The croc seemed to have vanished. It was still very exciting though. Then next thing we saw a croc with a baby wildebeest floating a past. It had obviously taken it right up against the bank we were on and we hadn’t seen it, but now he had it head down in the water and was off down the river with his catch. An even bigger croc was on his way up and they had a bit of a tussle over the catch, then both disappeared.
We stayed a while longer then decided we’d better head off as we needed to get through the park. We saw lion sleeping under a tree, buffalo, elephant, giraffe etc but it wasn’t as exciting as the herds. At one point along the river there was evidence that some wildebeest had already crossed as there were about 10 carcasses in the river and fat vultures all over. There were also quite a few wildebeest carcasses along the banks obviously from kills. The vultures here have it easy!
There wasn’t much activity further south and when we got to the only bridge that crosses the Mara and separates the west from east side of the park, K&M who’d been on the other side said they’d been told the best way to Narok was the way we’d come. It didn’t seem to make sense as the bulk of the tourists were on the east side and the maps showed an all weather rd to Narok from the East side gates and only a dry season rd from the Oloololo gate we’d come in on. Anyway reluctantly, and in retrospect, stupidly, we followed. The herds near our spot were now mostly grazing so the excitement was over. There wasn’t much else going on so we headed for the gate. Got out about 15h30 and headed for Narok on what was supposed to be a good rd. Well that was a joke! It was an excuse for a rd. they’d dumped rocks on it and left it – no roller! It was shocking! What’s new, this is Kenya!
Doris got herself totally confused as they’d obviously changed the route when the “made” the new rd. Eventually found someone who said he was also going there and we should follow him. Well he took off like a bat out of hell – clearly not loaded and in a govt vehicle. We did learn that sometimes there were tracks on the side of the rd which were on the black cotton mud (dry now) and which were 100 times better. However, often they ended / were blocked and getting back onto the “main” rd was difficult, so most of the time we were on the “rock-rd”. 150km’s of rocks – now and again covered by power dust, so you couldn’t see the sharp rocks.
M&K who were ahead of us sms’d to say they’d taken the last room at the Season’s hotel!
Found a small hotel with decent rooms and hot showers just outside Narok. Had our last super together before Sharon and Sarah left the next day.
Thurs 12th August Narok - Tsavo, Kenya (via Nairobi airport)
